This textbook chapter traces the historical development of the modern scientific understanding of light, and reviews the electromagnetic spectrum and the Earth's atmospheric shield. The resource includes links to current news articles, and a suite...(View More) of pre- and post-unit assessments. A teacher's guide supports classroom use. This is the fifth chapter in the unit, Energy Flow, exploring the flow of energy through the atmosphere, oceans, land, and living things over short and long timescales. The resource is part of Global System Science (GSS), an interdisciplinary course for high school students that emphasizes how scientists from a wide variety of fields work together to understand significant problems of global impact.(View Less)

In this lesson on cosmic rays, students will explain two examples of a cosmic ray detector. Includes information about student preconceptions and a demonstration that requires a geiger counter and optional access to a small radioactive source that...(View More) emits energetic helium nuclei (alpha particles), e.g., the mineral the mineral autunite, which contains uranium. This is activity two of four from The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER).(View Less)

In this activity, students use mathematics to understand tides and gravitation and how gravity works across astronomical distances, using an apparatus made from a slinky, meter stick, and a hook. A description of the mathematical relationships seen...(View More) in the demonstration is included. The resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.(View Less)

This is an activity about day and night as a result of the Earth's rotation. Learners will first identify what they already know about day, night, and rotation and will be asked to share any questions they may have. Then, a book is read out loud in...(View More) class and students are asked to identify relevant and important vocabulary words. On day two of this activity, learners will act as the Earth in creating a kinesthetic model of the day and night rotation. Lastly, learners will identify what was learned and complete a worksheet. This is Activity 5 of a larger resource entitled Eye on the Sky.(View Less)

In this demonstration, students experience the Doppler effect for sound. Students can compute the frequency change for motion along the line of sight (LOS) and determine the vector LOS component for motions not exactly on it. A buzzer, battery,...(View More) bicycle wheel, string and a rubber ball and a timer are needed for the demonstration. The resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.(View Less)

Students will work in teams to create visual models to assist in understanding the volume of surface ozone in the air. Students construct cubes of different volumes and compare them to get a feel for parts per million by volume and parts per billion...(View More) by volume. Resource includes a paper template for creating the cube and a student worksheet. This is a learning activity associated with the GLOBE Atmosphere investigations and is supported by the Atmosphere chapter of the GLOBE Teacher’s Guide.(View Less)

In this activity, students experiment to test the hypothesis that Mars was once hotter. The activity requires some advance preparation by the teacher: the day before the activity, need to place a plastic bottle filled with water in the freezer....(View More) Materials needed include plastic bottle of water and thermometer. It is a companion piece to a CD about the exploration of Mars that uses song and drama to tell the story of Spirit and Opportunity, NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, and their mission to search for signs of ancient water.(View Less)